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Pet containment systems are known for maintaining a dog or other animal within a defined area or to keep the animal outside of a defined area. Such a system includes a buried antenna wire which defines a perimeter or boundary across which the dog or other pet is trained to not cross. One well known system is the Hidden Fence System of DogWatch Inc. A transmitter is connected to the buried antenna and which drives the antenna to radiate an electromagnetic field which is detectable by a receiver attached to an animal collar. The intensity of the transmission or sensitivity of the receiver are adjusted to provide detection of the antenna field at predetermined distances from the antenna. Typically in a first zone of detection, the receiver senses a relatively weaker antenna field and provides an audible warning to the animal. At a second detection zone which is closer to the antenna, the receiver senses a stronger antenna field and causes an electrical stimulus to be applied to the animal as an indication to the animal that it is too close to the perimeter. By appropriate training the animal learns to stay away from the perimeter so as not to receive an electrical stimulus or audible warning. The intensity of the audible warning and intensity of the electrical stimulus are set by an installer or in some cases by a user to accommodate the behavior of a particular animal. Adjustment of the correction levels often requires a visit by a system installer. It would be useful to have a system in which the correction levels could be automatically adjusted without need for a service call and without need for user intervention.
In brief, the present invention provides an automatic correction system and technique for a pet containment system in which the correction levels of the electrical stimulus and/or audio or visual warning are adaptively adjusted in accordance with the behavior of a particular dog or other animal. In one mode of operation, the system is set to a baseline correction level at which a predetermined warning such as an audible beep is provided when the animal enters a first detection zone, and a predetermined electrical stimulus is provided when the animal enters a second detection zone. The correction levels are automatically adjusted in response to one or more parameters of the animal""s behavior. One example of animal behavior to be corrected is repeated challenge by the animal to the system by repeated entry into the first or second detection zone within a defined period of time. Another example of behavior to be corrected is the animal remaining in a detection zone beyond a specified time period. Yet another example is the animal escaping from the defined perimeter. The system can automatically adjust the warning, the electrical stimulus or both.
For an audible warning, any one or more changes in the audible sound can be provided, for example, the amplitude of the warning sound can be adjusted, and/or the rate or pitch of the sound can be adjusted. The audible warning can be a beep or a tone or a voice command. The voice command can be provided by a voice synthesizer or the vocalization can be in the voice of the pet owner. For a visual warning, the intensity, rate or color of the visual indication can be changed. The changes can also be with respect to an individual parameter or combination of parameters. The electrical stimulus can be changed with respect to the intensity of the stimulus and/or the rate at which the stimulus is applied. In principle, the auto-correction system can provide N levels of adjustment and M rates of adjustment in various combinations. A base level is specified for the warning and for the electrical stimulus, and the maximum level for each is also specified. The system is operative to control and automatically or adaptively adjust any one or more of the adjustable parameters to suit the particular behavioral characteristics of the animal.
The system can revert to a level appropriate to the animal""s behavior. For example, the base level may be adjusted to a new base level in response to the animal behavior, and the level can be raised from the new base level when appropriate. After a period of time at the raised level, the level can revert to the lower new base level. One or more auto-correction programs can be stored and selected by the system owner. The program can be changed by a user without dealer or service technician intervention. The auto-correction mode can be enabled or disabled by the user. In the disabled mode, the system functions with predetermined parameters and without the adaptive correction.
The auto-correction system is embodied as part of the receiver which is typically worn by the animal on a collar. The parameters of the auto-correction program can be set by control data transmitted to the receiver by the system transmitter or by a separate transmitter.
According to another aspect of the invention, data can be downloaded from the receiver for providing status and performance information. The receiver can be interrogated via a remote control device for example, to obtain the status data. A display or indicator can be provided at or associated with the receiver or collar. Alternatively, the display or indicator can be on a remote device which is in wireless or wired communication with the receiver. For example, a display or indication of the present level and rate of the warning and electrical stimulus can be provided. The status of the battery can also be provided. The indication can be by sound, speech annunciation, display screen or other indicator. The indication of warning and electrical stimulus levels or rates and other status information can be denoted by LEDs, or can be displayed on a screen such as a screen of a palm type data device, PDA or the like. The current system status can be immediately displayed or stored for later display or use and the history of system operation can be displayed and/or stored.